Pope Leo XIV delivered a video message during a celebration hosted by the Chicago White Sox and the Archdiocese of Chicago June 14 for the pontiff’s election at Rate Field in Chicago. (Carlos Osorio / Reuters / OSV News)
Office for Social Ministry
“In this Jubilee Year of Hope, Christ, who is our hope, indeed calls all of us to come together, that we might be that true living example: the light of hope in the world today.” (Pope Leo XIV video message, Chicago, June 14)
Recently, tens of thousands gathered at the Chicago White Sox’s Rate Field to celebrate the election of Pope Leo XIV, a native of the city’s South Side. Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, led the sold-out Mass, which featured a video message from Pope Leo XIV himself.
The Holy Father concluded his heartfelt message with this invitation: “I would like to invite all of you to take a moment, to open up your own hearts to God, to God’s love, to that peace which only the Lord can give us. To feel how deeply beautiful, how strong, how meaningful the love of God is in our lives. And to recognize that while we do nothing to earn God’s love, God in his own generosity continues to pour out his love upon us. And as he gives us his love, he only asks us to be generous and to share what he has given us with others.”
Chicago also recently celebrated memorial Masses for the passing of two beloved persons who were shining examples of sharing God’s unconditional love.
Sister Rosemary Connelly and Bob Erlenbaugh were remarkable people who offered compassionate care and shared their loving presence with vulnerable children and adults with developmental and physical challenges. For more than 50 years, Sister Rosemary and Bob (with his wife, Madge) opened their hearts as true living examples of Christ’s mercy through the Misericordia home, which provides a range of services designed to maximize potential and foster dignity, inclusion and hope.
Misericordia currently serves more than 600 residents on its 37-acre campus and through satellite homes in surrounding neighborhoods. Residents come from diverse racial, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. Many are wards of the state or have no families, and 20% come from households living in poverty.
Misericordia offers a continuum of care to meet residents’ diverse needs for each person to live as independently as possible in the highest level of community integration possible. Its residential settings include apartments, group homes and a skilled nursing residence on campus, as well as community integrated living arrangements for small groups in neighborhood homes outside the campus.
Some Misericordia residents work regularly at Chicago businesses. Other businesses outsource projects to be performed on-campus. Community volunteers also bring their expertise to Misericordia and accompany residents and their families regularly on excursions for social and recreational events. Misericordia aims to involve its residents in all feasible aspects of community living.
Misericordia describes itself as a community of believers joined together in Catholic values and traditions, striving to embrace those of all faiths as well as those with no religious tradition. The organization is operated by the Sisters of Mercy under the auspices of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, but private fundraising supports its programs, renovations and new buildings. (The archdiocese provided the property upon which Misericordia is based.)
For more on Misericordia, please visit www.misericordia.com.
Hawaii also has living beacons of light reflecting Christ’s mercy and compassion. These include many persons involved in the works of St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii, founded by the Sisters of St. Francis; Catholic Charities Hawaii, founded by the Maryknoll Sisters; and Hope Services Hawaii, which originated within the Diocese of Honolulu’s Office for Social Ministry.
We are also blessed with many parish-based ministries such as food pantries, outreach to homebound persons and special gatherings such as the ohana Mass involving families with members who have special gifts (sometimes referred to as special needs or disabilities).
As Pope Leo XIV’s recent June message to Chicago reminds us, we are all invited to be and to share living examples of Christ’s light, especially with the most vulnerable. For more on ways to respond to this call in Hawaii, please visit www.stfrancishawaii.org, www.catholiccharitieshawaii.org, www.hopeserviceshawaii.org and www.officeforsocialministry.org.
We pray that in this Jubilee Year, we all continue finding ways to be pilgrims of hope always and wherever we are.
Mahalo,
Your friends in the Office for Social Ministry